Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Jay Leno & Wife Mavis Provide Update Amid Her Dementia Battle

Originally posted on TV Insider | Last updated 5/1/24

Jay Leno and his wife, Mavis Leno, appeared at the Unfrosted premiere in Los Angeles on Tuesday (April 30), their first public appearance since the comedian was granted conservatorship of the couple’s joint estate.

As previously reported, Jay filed for a conservatorship in January amid his wife’s battle with advanced dementia. The conservatorship, which allows Jay to oversee Mavis’ estate and finances (not her person), was granted in early April.

On Tuesday evening, Mavis joined her husband of 44 years at the red carpet premiere of Jerry Seinfeld‘s new Netflix movie, Unfrosted, which lands on the streamer on Friday, May 3.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight reporter Kevin Frazier, Mavis said, “I feel great.”

“[I] thought I’d come to something fun for a change,” the former Tonight Show host added. “Everything is so controversial. Just to come to a funny, silly movie… it’s great. I think people will have a great time.”

Standing arm in arm with Mavis, Jay said, “We hang out every day. We have a great time. 44 years [married], so we’re doing good.”

Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix)

Jay turned 74 on April 28, but he told ET he isn’t a big “birthday guy,” explaining, “My life is a party anyway. Every day is a good day.”

“We just have each other,” Mavis added while hugging her husband.

Last month, court documents revealed the results of an investigation into the conservatorship request by court-appointed legal counsel Ronald Ostrin.

Ostrin wrote that neurologist Dr. Hart Cohen claims that Mavis “sometimes does not know her husband, Jay, nor her date of birth.” In addition, she often has “a lot of disorientation” and “ruminates about her parents who have both passed.”

It was also said that Dr. Cohen noted Leno “loves his wife very much” and “treats [Mavis] like gold.”

Jay and Mavis met in the 1970s while Jay was performing at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. The pair quickly hit it off and later bought a house together. Jay proposed to Mavis, partly so she would be covered under his insurance policy, and they tied the knot on November 3, 1980.

Ostrin’s report stated that the former talk show host and his wife “have a long-term, loving and supportive relationship” with plenty of “resources” to give the former a “safe and least restrictive environment.”

This article first appeared on TV Insider and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: